My first newspaper gave all employees a week's pay as a Christmas bonus, which was nice except for the fact that the pay was so paltry to begin with.

Another one gave us a $25 gift certificate to a local food distribution company, which I'm almost certain the paper did not have to pay for; it was done in "in exchange for promotional considerations."

I had one other one give us each a turkey.

It has been at least 10 years since any of my employers has done anything like this, though.

I've never complained about it, because frankly, I don't view this as something I'm entitled to and I don't want to be regaled with the above comment about it being a bonus to keep my job.

I got $175 (that's the figure I got based on some complicated formula based on salary, hours worked, etc.) and wasn't expecting it at all. Nice surprise. Also liked that my boss showed up at my home a couple of days ago with a plate of home-baked goodies and a slip of paper telling me I was getting a raise and exactly how much per hour it was.

A previous paper gave everyone a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart -- the day after running an editorial ripping into Wal-Mart after it announced plans to turn the existing store in a Super Wal-Mart with a grocery store.

I've only worked at one place that gave us a Christmas bonus -- $15 gift cards to local grocery stores. The paper got them for free as part of some sort of ad deal, and I NEVER actually got one to the Krogers I shopped at.